Micron, Samsung back JEDEC plan for wireless memory

LONDON – The JEDEC Solid State Technology Association, formerly known as the Joint Electron Devices Engineering Council (JEDEC), has announced that the JC-64 Committee for embedded memory storage and removable memory cards has formed a subcommittee focused on the standardization of non-volatile memory for wireless data transfers.

The subcommittee, known as JC-64.9 is to be chaired by Nokia and vice-chaired by Micron and Samsung. JEDEC said JC-64.9 welcomes participation from interested companies.

According to JEDEC wireless memory is expected to be used for the transfer and storage of data between battery-free memory tags located in objects and wireless memory hosts typically within mobile electronic devices such as smartphones and tablet computers.

Wireless data transfers should ideally be high-speed and inherently low power to prevent such actions draining the batteries of mobile phones and computers, the association added.

A number of applications could benefit from short range memory transfers at rates of more than 100-Mbits per second, said Hannu Kauppinen, Head of Nokia Research Center. It would, for example, enable consumers to download a music album in under 10 seconds in a store.

"We are confident about our capability for providing wireless mobile applications with more effective storage memory solutions that will enable businesses to have greater flexibility in accommodating new digital applications,” said Jim Elliott, vice president, memory marketing and product planning, Samsung Semiconductor Inc., in a statement issued by JEDEC.

"Standardization activities will focus to create a solution which is memory interface agnostic with respect to the actual structure of the Wireless Memory Tag and Wireless Memory Host," said Marco Dallabora, senior director for wireless solutions R&D at Micron, in the same statement.

The terminology used in the title of the article is somewhat misleading, it should be wireless data transfer instead of wireless memory, or at all is it is correctly written then the term needs a reconsideration about naming it.

Seems like there could be several roadblocks if music and movies are to be included in the standard. Hopefully the standard can be at a lower level and not need to know exactly what data is being moved.